Controlling and governing gear for pressure-engines.



No. 775,240. PATENTED NOV. 15, 1904.

- E. OROWE.

CONTROLLING AND GOVERNING GEAR FOR PRESSURE APPLICATION FILED 311N316, 190s.

ENGINES.

NO MODEL. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 SS W Inf/V5005) INVf/V 70/? .Edu/ardC'mu/rs'yfloym b W No. 775,240. PATENTED NOV. 15, 1904.

B. GROWE.

CONTROLLING AND GOVERNING GEAR FOR PRESSURE ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 16, 1903.

N0 MODEL. 2 SHEETS-SHEET z.

nonvzss5s l/VVf/YTOI? Edward Clea 6' Wax M 5r UNITED STATES IatentedNovember 15, 1904.

PATENT ()EEIcE.

DAVY BROS, LIMITED, OF SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND, (INCORPORATED) CONTROLLINGAND GOVERNING GEAR FOR PRESSURE-ENGINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 775,240, dated November15, 1904.

Application filed June 16, 1903.

T0 (LZZ whmn it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD Cnown, engineer and chief draftsman, asubject of the King of Great Britain, residing at Bircholm, Bushey Wood, Totley Rise, Sheffield, England, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Controlling and Governing Gear forPressure-Engines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the controlling (including the starting,stopping, and governing) of steam and other pressure engines, and hasthe twofold object of reducing to a minimum the manual labor required toadjust the controlling device and of automatically regulating during therunning of the engine the supply of steam or other motive fluidaccording to the amount of load for the time being on the engine.

In carrying the invention into practice I employ the power, on the onehand, of an auxiliary motor and, on the other hand. of the engine whichis itself to be controlled to actuate the expansion or reversingvalve-gear, the auxiliary motor and the engine beingapplied to act onthe said expansion or reversing valve-gear with contrary effects, sothat each will counteract or neutralize completely or partially in anygiven ratio the effect produced by the other. The conjoint effectproduced on said valve-gear by the mutuallyneutralizing actions of theauxiliary motor and of the main engine is to establish equilibriumbetween these mutually-opposing actions when the main engine attains aspeed which bears a certain ratio to the then speed of the auxiliarymotor. If, therefore, the motor be adjusted to run at a given speed, thevalve-gear of the main engine will be adjusted to cause the engine towork at a given grade of expansion for a given load, any variation ofload having for effect to cause an inverselycorrespendingvariation ofthe grade of expansion. Furthermore, this effect will be produced forall grades of expansion and for both directions of running. Moreover,the direction of running of the main engine is dependent on thedirection of running of the Serial No. 161,714. (No model.)

auxiliary motor, so that reversal of the main engine will be broughtabout by reversal of the auxiliary motor.

The invention consists in the particular construction and arrangement ofparts, as hereinafter fully described, and pointed outin the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming part ofthis specification, wherein Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly insection, showing the improvement applied; and Fig. 2 is a plan view ofthe same.

The same reference characters indicate corresponding parts in bothfigures.

In the drawings, 1 1 are center lines of the working cylinders 1, and 9.the crank-shaft of a pair of reversing horizontal steam-engines, eachengine being provided with its own slidevalve expansion or reversinggear, as usual. Since the application of the improvement to eachreversing-gear is the same, it will be described with reference to oneonly.

3 is the piston slide-valve controlling the supply of steam to thevalve-chest 4: of the engine, as usual, and of which the position is tobe controlled, this control being exercised by themutually-counteracting influences of the main engine itself and of anauxiliary motor 5. The gear through which this mutual counteraction isproduced is in the nature of a differential or hunting gear, andpreferably consists of a worm-wheel 6 in gear with two worms 7 and 8,having threads of the same pitch and the same direction of twist, therelative arrangement being such that when the worms revolve at equalspeeds the wormwheel will merely revolve about its axis without changeof position; but when one only of the said worms is driven or when oneworm is driven faster than the other the worm-wheel will be caused toroll and travel upon the other Worm as upon a stationary rack. Thewormwheel is mounted to turn upon a cross-pin 9, carried in a pair ofdie-blocks 10, fitted to slide in guide-slots 11 in stationary frames12, which may be mounted on the engine-bed 13, as indicated, and theworm-wheel axis is coupled by a forked connecting-rod 14 to the swingingarm 53, so that any movement of translation imparted as above mentionedto the worm-wheel will produce a corresponding change in position ofsaid piston-valve, as hereinafter described.

The shafts of the worms 7 and 8 are mounted in bearings 19 20 in theframes 12, parallel to one another and tangential to the worm-Wheel 6 atdiametrically opposite points. and the shaft of the worm 8 is driven bythe auxiliary motor 5 through the medium of a frictionclutch 22 of anysuitable construction, while the shaft of the worm 7 is driven from thecrank-shaft 2 of the main engine through any suitable intermediategear-such, for example, as bevel-gearing 60, 61, 62 and the shafts 63and 64.

The auxiliary motor may be actuated by electricity, hydraulic, steam,gas, or other power, and it may be controlled in such a manner that itcan be instantly started or stopped or kept running at any speed ineither direction, with the effect of imposing upon the engine acorresponding condition as to motion or speed of motion or direction ofrunning.

The piston-valve comprises piston-heads 41, mounted on the spindle 42,and the said spindle 42 receives reciprocating motion from a singleeccentric 43 through the medium of a connecting-rod 44, bell-crank lever45, and link 46, pivoted to the tail end 47 of the eccentric-rod 48,which is pivoted at 50 to a swinglink 51, suspended on a pivot 52,carried by an arm 53, mounted on the weigh-shaft 54. The valve being atmid-stroke in Fig. 1, the centers 50 and 54 appear to coincide in saidfigure.

When the arm 53 is in the position shown, the pivot 50 is caused by thehorizontal component of the motion produced by the rotation of theeccentric to move in an arc indicated by the dotted line it, while thevertical component of the motion causes the eccentricrod to vibrateabout that pivot 50 and so to operate the slide-valve for one directionof running, whereas when the arm 53 is in the position indicated by thedotted center line 53 the pivot 50 will vibrate in the are it) and thevalve will be operated for the other direction of running of the mainengine. WVhen the arm 53 is in the mid-position 53 the steam admissionis reduced to the minimum.

The position of arm 53 is determined by the position of the worm-wheel6,whose crosspin 9 is coupled to the arm 53 by a pair of connecting-rods14, as hereinbefore described.

The operation of the worm-gear is such that any difference of speedbetween the two worms 7 and 8, having for effect(for the one directionof running) to cause a movement of translation of the worm-wheel axis 9between the one limit of its travel and the median line 2 2, whichcorrespond to the mid-position 53 of the arm 53 and similarly for theother direction of running between the opposite limit of the travel ofthe axis 9 and the same median line 2 2.

In the drawings the auxiliary motor 5 is assumed to be electricallydriven, and its armature-shaft is geared with the shaft of the worm 8through Worm-gear 71. The speed of the motor and likewise its directionof running is regulated through the medium of a hand-operatedcontroller-switch, such as indicated at 72 and which may be of anysuitable construction, adapted to vary the speed and direction ofrunning of the auxiliary motor 5.

It has been indicated how the speed of the main engine is governed bythe speed of the auxiliary motor, and it only remains to explain how thedirection of running of the main engine is determined by the directionof running of the auxiliary motor. Supposing the engine to be at restand the valve-gear to be in the position corresponding to forwardrunning at full speed or under the maximum load, then if it be desiredto run the engine in the reverse direction the setting of the valvegearis effected by so adjusting the controller 7 2 as to cause theauxiliarymotor 5 to run in the backward directionz'. a, in the directioncontrary to that in which it is assumed to have been running previously.The effect of this will be to rotate the worm 8 in such direction as tocause the Worm-wheel 6 to travel along the Worm 7 to the other side ofthe median line 2 e and the arm 53 to be swung over to the opposite sideof the median line 53 whereupon if the steam stop-valve be open the mainengine will start in the required direction and will run with a grade ofexpansion determined by the point in the travel of the worm-wheel 6 atwhich the rotative effects of the action of the worms 7 and 8 neutralizeeach other.

It will be obvious without further illustration that the differential orhunting gear may be applied to adjust the mutual relation of the linkand die-block or other parts which determine the grade of expansion inany other kind of reversing valve-gear.

I claim 1. In an engine, the combination with a valve for controllingthe supply of motive agent to the engine, of a worm-wheel mounted insliding bearings, two worms meshing with the worm-wheel, mechanism foroperating one worm from the engine, an auxiliary motor, mechanism foroperating the other worm-wheel from the motor, means for operating thevalve from the engine, a swinging member connected with thevalve-operating means, and a connection between the said swinging memberand the sliding bearings of the worm-wheel.

2. In an engine, the combination with a valve for controlling the supplyof motive agent to the engine, of a worm-wheel mounted in slidingbearings, two worms meshing with the worm-wheel, one of the worms beingoperated by the engine, an auxiliary motor for operating the other worm,an eccentric, a connection between the eccentric-rod and valve, aswinging arm pivotally connected with the eccentric-rod, and aconnection between the said arm and the sliding bearings of theworm-wheel.

3. In an engine, the combination with a valve for controlling the supplyof motive agent to the engine, of a worm-wheel mounted in slidingbearings, two worms meshing with the worm-wheel, means for operating oneworm from the engine, an auxiliary motor, means for operating the otherWorm from the said motor, an eccentric on the engineshaft, a connectionbetween the eccentric-rod and valve, a pivoted arm, a link connectionbetween one end of the said arm and the eccentric-rod, and a connectionbetween the pivoted arm and the sliding bearings of the wormwheel.

i. In an engine, the combination with a valve for controlling the supplyof motive agent to the engine, of a worm-wheel mounted in slidingbearings, two worms meshing with the worm-wheel, means for operating oneworm from the engine-shaft, an auxiliary motor, means for operating theother worm from the said motor, an eccentric on the engine-shaft, aconnection between the eccentric-rod and valve, a swing-link pivoted tothe eccentric-rod, an arm pivoted at its lower end and to the upper endof which the swinglink is pivoted, and rods connecting the slidingbearings of the worm-wheel with said arm, the said rods being pivoted tothe arm at about the center of length thereof.

EDWVARD CRO'WE.

WV itnesses:

BAIN L. CAMPBELL, WV. H. SLATER.

